The Mirror
by Sedentary Wordsmith
Summary: Danny realizes something after the Fenton vacation, with aggravating results. Rated for violence to inanimate objects (and a pigeon), and temporary insanity.


Yay! A one-shot! Don't get on me about the length. Seriously, could you honestly see this as a twenty-chapter fic? I didn't think so.

This takes place shortly after "The Fenton Menace." I got this idea after watching that episode, and it has bugged me ever since. In case you haven't seen that episode in a while, the scene I'm referring to is when Jazz, Danny, and Youngblood are in the tent and YB is about to kill Jazz with his axe-hand (at least I think it was…I hope it was…) and Danny turns around and shoots a beam into a small mirror, which reflects into YB.

The Mirror

Danny stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, his hand on his chin as if in deep thought. It had been two weeks since the Fenton vacation that Youngblood had nearly ruined, two weeks since he had saved his sister from the child ghost's axe. Something had been bothering him ever since.

"I don't get it," Danny mumbled to himself as he tapped on the mirror, as though doing so would solve the problem. He was certainly glad that Jazz's small hand mirror had suited his purpose of saving her life, but it also posed his current problem.

"Maybe if I…" He aimed one finger at his reflection in the mirror. A small green beam shot out, and he was forced to throw himself to the floor not a second later as the beam shot back at him. But he had been expecting that.

He growled and stood up, examining the nickel-sized hold in the shower wall opposite the mirror.

"Danny! What was that! I heard something!" Jazz's shrill voice called up.

He yanked the door open and spotted her standing at the base of the stairs. "Nothing! I—uh—dropped my…toothbrush," he finished lamely. Jazz glared at him suspiciously for a moment before the look disappeared and she smiled at him.

"Right. Well, hurry up. You're going to be late for school."

Danny rolled his eyes. _Sisters_. He would never understand them. "Alright, just let me get my backpack!" His backpack already hanging off one shoulder, he stomped purposefully toward his room before quickly sneaking into Jazz's bedroom. He easily found her makeup bag and after a moment of rifling through it, he produced a round hand-held mirror. "There you are," he whispered to his prize. He carefully tucked it into his jeans pocket then went downstairs.

…………

Danny walked out of the school building beside Sam and Tucker, the final bell just fading. The school day had seemed even longer than usual, the ever-present mirror taunting him with its nearness.

"Hey, you wanna go to the Nasty Burger?" Tucker asked them. "I've been wanting to try their new Triple Nasty Meat Mix since Monday."

"Sure!" Sam answered. "Though I would rather the triple-milk soy melt." She glared at him.

"Actually, guys, I've got something I've gotta do," Danny said, laying a hand over the mirror in his pocket.

"Ghost business?" Tucker asked.

"Ahh…sort of."

"Well, that's alright," Sam said. "We can come too."

"No, that's okay, really." Danny grinned. "You two go on ahead. This shouldn't take long at all."

"You sure?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Positive." Danny kept the grin plastered on. "I'll catch you guys later." He waited until the two were out of sight before taking out the mirror and staring at it. "You shall be mine yet!"

…………

Danny stood in a secluded area of the town park, still holding the small mirror even though he was now in his ghost form. He found a small rock and propped the mirror against it, tilted upwards to avoid a repeat of that morning's accident.

"I'll try this first, one more time…" he muttered out loud, pointing a finger at the mirror and firing. The beam reflected off the shining surface, shooting into the sky. "Well, that didn't work."

There was a sudden plop, and Danny was surprised to see a fat pigeon on the ground, scrabbling madly about. There was a small burn mark on one of its wings, and Danny grinned nervously. "Good thing Sam wasn't around to see that."

Some loud squawking and a hard peck to the hand later, the angry bird crookedly flew away. After making sure there were no more nearby potential casualties, Danny turned his attention back to the mirror. "Okay, next step up…" This time his whole hand glowed green a moment before a larger ecto-beam shot out. The same result occurred, the beam merely being reflected into the sky.

Danny glared in consternation at the round object. "Wanna play it tough, eh? Well two can play that game!"

He raised both arms above his head, a glowing green orb forming between his hands. When it was about the size of a beach ball, he brought it crashing down on the defenseless little mirror.

When the dust cleared, he nearly screamed in frustration to see the mirror covered in dust, but otherwise unharmed. The rock it had been leaning against, however, was broken into two pieces.

"Why!" he shouted, picking up the mirror and glaring at it. "Why won't you die? Crack, break, something! Seven years bad luck or no, I will not let a little piece of polished plastic defeat me!" He threw the mirror down and proceeded to jump up and down on it, but this only succeeded in pushing it into the dirt.

Danny pulled on his white hair, nearly screaming again. He smirked suddenly, picking up the mirror. "Gonna make me pull out the big guns, huh? Fine, no more Mister Nice Ghost!" He looked around at the trees and flowers around him. "No, not here…" He shot up into the sky, heading for the outskirts of Amity Park.

…………

Danny touched down in an abandoned field just outside the city, still smirking at the mirror. He pushed it into the earth just enough to make it stand upright on its own, and stepped back a few paces. He put one hand out in front of him and concentrated for just a moment before firing. A large, bright green funnel-shaped blast issued from his hand, growing larger the harder he concentrated.

After about five long seconds of this, he let his hand fall to his side, leaning over a bit from the exertion. He smirked. It was worth it, though. Danny walked forward to survey the damage. There was now a huge hollow tract of land in the field, at least fifty feet long. His eyes widened as he saw the mirror in the middle of it, unscathed on its own little island.

He gripped his hair, but forced himself to take a deep, calming breath. "I'm okay. Yes, I'm fine. I'm not giving up yet. I still have the best left!" He opened his eyes and looked down at the seemingly innocent mirror. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," he said, ignoring the fact that he was again addressing an inanimate object. He supposed he could argue that he was talking to his reflection (which was still viewable through the dirty surface), not that that was much better.

He snatched up the mirror again and flew around the field until he came upon a small boulder, a little lower than chest level. He set the mirror on top of it, with a smaller rock behind it to prop it up, and again took his stance a few feet away.

He sucked in a deep breath, and without hesitation, let loose his Ghostly Wail. After just a couple seconds, the rock started slipping back, the mirror on top flying away under the force of the onslaught, followed shortly by the boulder.

Danny finally let his Wail die, falling to his knees and transforming back into his human form. He was smiling, though. There was no way the little mirror could survive his all-powerful Ghostly Wail.

It took a bit of searching to find it, but when he finally did, his eyes widened in astonishment and this time he really did scream in anger. The mirror lay, half buried in dirt, but otherwise completely unharmed, not even a scratch on its reflective surface.

"Why…won't…you…BREAK?" Danny shouted, each word punctuated by a heavy stomp on the mirror. He finally just collapsed to his knees, scooping the mirror up and staring dejectedly at his reflection. "I admit defeat," he choked out. "I, Danny Phantom, have been survived by a mirror, impervious to everything I had." He sighed. "I give up."

Something on the mirror's surface suddenly caught his attention. He rubbed the dirt away to better read the tiny printing.

_Remove protective film before use._

Danny slowly peeled up the see-through plastic on the mirror, revealing a shiny-clean surface for reflection underneath. Then it did the unexpected.

It broke in half.

Danny stared in shock at the two pieces of mirror in his hands for a full ten seconds, mouth agape. Then he could not help it. He broke down and cried.

The End! Hope you enjoyed. Please review.


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